Introduction

In the past, scanners were big, bulky, and heavy. Having a flatbed scanner at your workstation meant that a significant portion of your desk would be taken up by it. Once, I hung a shelf over my desk to be used as a perch for my scanner. The problem was somewhat eliminated at the workstation by the "all in one" printer/scanner, since more space is taken up by a printer, but forget traveling with it.

There were mobile scanners in the form of hand scanners, but it was nearly impossible to get high quality scans with them. If the scanner wasn't moved across the page in an extremely smooth motion, the image would be distorted.

Fortunately, present scanner technology has brought us the mobile USB scanner. Today, I will be looking at Plustek's OpticSlim M12 sheetfed color scanner, one of several scanners in PlusTek's lineup. We'll see what kind of quality we can get from a scanner that will easily fit in a briefcase or backpack.

Specifications

Interface: USB 2.0 Full Speed
Technology: Advanced Color CIS (Contact Image Sensor)
Resolution: Hardware optical 600 dpi
Scanning Modes:
- Color: 48-bit input, 24/48-bit output
- Grayscale: 16-bit input, 8/16-bit output
- B/W: 1-bit
Max. Scanning Area: 216 x 297 mm (8.5" x 11.69", A4/ Letter Size)
Net Weight: Approx. 330g (scanner only)
Dimensions (D x W x H): 47 x 247 x 33.8 mm (scanner only)
Scan Speed: 3 pages per minute
Scan Mode: Single Pass
Cable Length: 150 cm
Power Consumption: 1.2 w idle; 2.2 w during scan
Environment Requirement: ROHS / WEEE
Paper Sensor: Photo interrupter (reflective type)
Regulatory Certificates: CE, FCC-B

Packaging

The OpticSlim M12 comes in this attractive box. As the specifications reside on the outside of the box in 9 different languages, it is pretty likely that few people in the Western Hemisphere or Europe would have any problem knowing what is in the box, or the system requirements.

When we open the box, we find the OpticSlim M12, software, a stand, cables, and installation instructions. The scanner is well supported by foam inserts.

Let's take a closer look at the scanner.

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